A Tradition of Celebration by the Adams Family

Researched by James R. Heintze. All Rights Reserved.

No other family has had a longer legacy of celebrating the Fourth of July than the Adams family.
From 1776 to 1892, the Adams family had been involved in a myriad of Independence Day
activities. John Adams (1735-1826) was instrumental in negotiating in favor of
independence at
the Continental Congresses (1774-78), signed the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams' famous letter of July 3, 1776, in which he wrote to his wife Abigail what his
thoughts were about celebrating the Fourth of July is found on various web sites but is usually
incorrectly quoted. Following is the exact text from his letter with his original spellings:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History
of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great
anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of
Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews,
Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the
other from this Time forward forever more.
You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and
Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend
these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see
that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days
Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of
Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University
Press, 1975, 142).

Writing that letter was an act of celebration.

In 1778, Adams and Benjamin Franklin went to Paris to try to solidify an American
alliance with France for the war effort. While there, on July 4, they hosted the first American
Independence Day celebration on the European continent with a dinner for "the American
Gentlemen and ladies, in and about Paris" (Diary and Autobiography of John
Adams, 2:317 and 4:143-44).

John Adams' second cousin Samuel Adams
(1722-1803), likewise a Revolutionary
patriot, helped organize the Sons of Liberty (1765), wrote articles for the press giving his
arguments for independence (a doctrine that would later be familiar to all patriots). He too
celebrated his dream of independence by affixing his signature to the Declaration of
Independence. Samuel Adams' grandson, Samuel Adams Wells, presented a "truly patriotic oration
at the Meeting House in Boston, on July 4, 1819. "The oration contained an exact and lucid history
of the origin and first settlement of our country; of the rise, progress, and termination of the
revolution, and of the late war [of 1812] with England" (Independent Chronicle &
Boston Patriot, 7 July 1819, 2).

John Adams' eldest son, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) gained considerable
experience in the political arena through the posts he held abroad, later as Secretary of State
(1817-25) under President James Monroe, and then as President (1825-28). Adams
was aware of the importance celebrating the Fourth of July. In 1787, at the age of twenty, he was
in Boston at the old brick meeting house listening to a Fourth of July oration (Diary of
John Quincy Adams, Harvard University Press, 1981, 2:249). But not long thereafter, he
was actively participating in Independence Day activities. For example, "at the request of the
inhabitants of Boston," he gave an oration there on July 4, 1793 (printed,
Boston: Benjamin Edes and Son, 1793).

In 1821 when President Monroe was ill on July 4 (the Executive Mansion was closed to the
public), Adams represented the Executive Department at the ceremony held in the Capitol.
He read from an original copy of the Declaration of Independence there and gave an address (printed,
Cambridge: Hilliard and Metcalf, 1821; see also Woodstock Observer,17 July 1821, 3). During his presidency as well, Adams was very active
in Independence Day activities, whether in hosting open-door dinners at the Executive Mansion,
giving orations, or being involved in civic and military parades. In 1826, for example, Adams
marched in a parade to the Capitol where he heard Judge Joseph Anderson
give an oration.(National Intelligencer, 5 July 1826, 2). In 1828, Adams was
the chief participant in the ground-breaking ceremony for the excavation of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal just above Georgetown. He gave a speech on that occasion and also heard
music played by the U.S. Marine Band.
See Alexandria Gazette, 7 July 1828, 3). Other Fourth of July orations given
by John Quincy included:

In 1839, John Quincy was invited to attend a celebration in Canton, Massachusetts, but declined. In place of being there, he agreed
to send a toast to be offered at the dinner celebration:

Quincy, July 1st, 1839.
Dear Sir--A wish was intended that in the place of my personal attendance I would send a sentiment for the celebration at Canton. With my best wishes for the happiness of all the company, I offer the one below and remain respectfully, your very obedient servant, J.Q. Adams.
"The Grand Climacteric of our Country--May her old age never fail to fulfil the promise of her youth."

(New Bedford Mercury, 19 July 1839, 1.

George Washington Adams (1801-1829), the eldest son of John Quincy Adams, was a
member of the class of 1821 at Harvard University. In 1824 on Independence Day, he presented
an oration (published, Boston: E. Lincoln, 1824) in Quincy, Mass. Also in Quincy, Mass., on
July 4, 1826, an ode he wrote on the occasion of a flag presentation was performed to the tune of
"Adams and Liberty" (Columbian Sentinel, 22 July 1826, 1).

Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886), younger son of John Quincy Adams, was a
member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1841-44) and state senate (1844-45).
At the onset of the Civil War, he resigned from Congress to accept an appointment by President
Lincoln as minister to England. In 1843, at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Adams had the
honor of giving the oration. His father John Quincy was in the audience. A local newspaper
reported:

We have heard the Oration spoken of, in high terms of praise, by those who are
fully competent to decide upon its merits. It was characterized by strength of language, boldness
of thought, and fearless independence. The venerable John Quincy Adams was present, and
listened to the discourse of his son, with evident deep feeling and interest. (The
Atlas, 6 July 1843, 2.)

Other Fourth of July orations given by Charles Francis Adams included:

As a testimony to the life of Charles Francis Adams, in 1887, a year after he died, the noted
speaker William Everett (1839-1910) presented an "Address in Commemoration of the Life and
Services of Charles Francis Adams" on July 4 in the Stone Temple at Quincy, Massachusetts.

Charles Francis Adams' son, Charles Francis Adams, Jr. (1835-1915), was a Union soldier in the Civil
War and eventually attained the rank of brigadier general. After the War, he spent considerable
time as a historian writing about the War. In Boston, Charles Francis, Jr. gave an oration
(printed, Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1872) on July 4, 1872. On July 4, 1874, he gave
another address titled "Wessagusset and Weymouth, an Historical Address," at Weymouth,
Mass., on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the town (printed, Weymouth: Weymouth
Historical Society, 1905). In 1892, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the town of
Quincy, Mass., he delivered an oration in the First Church there. A local newspaper quoted a
portion of his speech:

The time will never come when to secure good
municipal government all citizens will have to do is to cast a ballot. In Chicago, Philadelphia,
New York Boston, and the other large cities municipal government is not in the hands of the
citizens, but in those of
interested parties. (New York Times, 5 July 1892).